WASHINGTON—Fifty-two American high school students have been named winners of the 17th annual National Peace Essay Contest, sponsored by the United States Institute of Peace. Each student will receive a $1,000 college scholarship and compete for the 2004 national first prize, a $10,000 college scholarship. A list of winners, their schools, hometowns, essay titles, and faculty coordinators follows this release. 

The contest, which is open to students in all American high schools, is designed to encourage serious and realistic thinking about issues of international conflict management and peacebuilding. This year, more than 1,000 students from American high schools throughout the United States and abroad submitted essays to the contest. They conducted research and prepared essays on the complex issue of “Rebuilding Societies after Conflict.” Their essays explored what happens to societies after violent conflicts end and what is necessary for post-conflict reconstruction to lead to stability.

The 52 winners will represent their states, U.S. territories, and American schools overseas in a program for state-level winners in Washington, DC from June 19-24, 2004. Students will meet with senior U.S. government and foreign embassy officials, members of Congress, and other experts involved in the making of American foreign policy. They will also assume the roles of diplomats, government officials, and members of the international community in a special three-day problem solving simulation focusing on the conflict in Sudan. The purpose of the exercise is to encourage the students to closely examine the process of post-conflict reconstruction. At week’s end, the national first-, second-, and third-place winners will be announced, and college scholarships of $10,000, $5,000, and $2,500 will be awarded at a banquet on June 23.

The late Senator Spark Matsunaga of Hawaii, one of the USIP's founders, believed that "if we want peace, we must educate people to want peace." "Nothing bears out this conviction more than the National Peace Essay Contest,” said USIP President Richard H. Solomon. "By encouraging young Americans to grapple with the challenges of converting the concept of peace into action in real world situations, the Peace Essay Contest prepares them to be ambassadors of peace for the rest of their lives."

You can keep apprised of what students are doing during their week in Washington on the Institute’s web site at www.usip.org. Additional information on this year’s state winners and the National Peace Essay Contest week, including bios and photos of the state winners, will be available online in June.